I remember when I first discovered an 1851 Canadian census record while looking for my McBride line. My 3rd grandfather and his family had lived in Northern Ireland and had immigrated to the New Brunswick, Canada area in 1836. I was definitely impressed at seeing their names in that census record that dated back almost 170 years. My 2nd great grandfather, John McBride, got married to his wife Louise Clendinin in New Brunswick. It was an interesting experience to find she and her family a couple of pages before John's family. They were neighbors just down the country road from each other.

There often is a fair amount of information in census records that give you a little insight into their life. Common items in the records included things such as the household members, ages, occupation, place where born, places where parents were born, address of their current residence, and more. Over the years, the types of items changed somewhat. Other variable items included in some census also included how long the couple were married, the number of children (living and dead), and more.

Census records were actually started in 1790 for taxation purposes and a way to allocate federal funds as population growth was monitored. They are done every 10 years. Until 1850 however, the records only contained the head of household name along with the numbers of females & males between different age ranges, a not so helpful practice for those of us who are seeking actual ancestral names. The 1890 US Census records were burned in a 1921 fire. If you would like to read a Wikipedia article on the history of the US Census, click HERE.

It really is a lot of fun to go through each census record available for the family. The couple's children grow up and move on with their own lives in different farming communities, or working with the railroad out in California, or wherever. Those couples have children that can be followed every 10 year census cycle. Perhaps some of the young children died in between those census years or new children were born. By reviewing the census records from each decade, you will begin to connect to your ancestral families and learn more about their lives.

If you would like more information about census records you can always click HERE. Have fun exploring more about your ancestors through the available census records.